Bc’s Craft Beer Boom Fuelled By Homebrewers |2| Brewed Awakening Blog | The Province

How to Build a Home-Brew Radon Detector - IEEE Spectrum

Most of those stories involve an a-ha moment when they realized that homebrew could be both delicious and easy to make. Its part of what Chris Booth of Dans Homebrewing Supplies calls a snowball effect. Theres people that make homebrew, and then people drink their homebrew and theyre like, Really? You made this? And then they come in and they start making stuff, says Booth, co-owner and manager of the East Hastings store thats long been a hub for homebrewing in the Lower Mainland. Started by Dan Small, a legendary figure in local homebrewing circles who passed away last year, Dans Homebrewing has seen business boom over the past few years. Yet despite this chain reaction and the diversity of people who take to homebrewing, it takes a certain type to make good beer. Essential traits include attention to detail (measurements and timing can be crucial the length of the boil, when ingredients are added, for example); patience (conditioning beer, particularly lager, can take weeks); and cleanliness (the smallest contamination can spoil a whole batch, though this can also lead to some serendipitously delicious creations). Booth says a good brewer shares many attributes with a good chef. Someone thats got a good palate and balance. You dont need to be a rocket science, but if you know the science it definitely helps. A good sense of taste and judgment and creativity, says Booth, an experienced homebrewer himself. Overall, theres a particular mix of art and science, theory and practice to the process. You need to know some science behind the whole brewing process but then you have a lot of space for flexibility and creativity, says David Bowkett, a homebrewer who went on to set up Powell Street Craft Brewery in East Vancouver. Ive always liked doing things myself and being hands on. David Bowkett at Powell Street Craft Brewery in Vancouver. Im an engineer originally and I find it does tend to attract a lot of those types, says Chad McCarthy, another long-term homebrewer. theyre very much do-it-yourselfers, inventors that like to build equipment. This surge in interest in amateur brewing has resulted in an interesting mix of people that gather for the monthly meetings of VanBrewers , Vancouvers homebrewing society. Co-founded by Graham With in 2010, VanBrewers quickly gathered more than 100 members. A huge amount of homebrewers came out of the woodwork, recalls McCarthy. Tons of people like me brewing in their basements not knowing anyone else existed. VanBrewers quickly became known as a place to get inspiration and education. We offer quite the resource for people to improve, says Scott Butchart, who took over as VanBrewers president after With stepped down to focus on his job. Obviously when most people start out theyre not so great and they struggle a bit. People say they come to our meetings and they leave with 100 per cent more knowledge than they came with we have a really well rounded, well experienced group that can help you. VanBrewers president Scott Butchart with a sleeve of his homebrewed brown porter. That help comes from the collective knowledge of the many and variously skilled people who attend VanBrewers meetings. Such as the web designer with the award-winning barley wine; the opthalmologist who some say makes the best lagers in Canada; or McCarthy, an electrical engineer-turned lawyer whos a certified cicerone a beer expert on par with a wine sommelier as well as a national-rank beer judge. Im not as accomplished as a brewer but Im interested in the science of it and the judging aspect of it, training yourself to know what a beer should taste like and if it doesnt taste right, what might be wrong and provide advice to people, McCarthy says. (Theres) a little bit of an art to it as well as a science. Electrical engineer-turned lawyer Chad McCarthy is also a long-time homebrewer, member of VanBrewers, certified cicerone and beer judge. Hes pictured at an educational off-flavours class he taught last year. * * * With all this focused intensity among a tight-knit group of skilled crafters, itll come as little surprise to learn that some homebrewers can become obsessed. A phrase that seems to be in common use in brewing circles is going down the rabbit hole. And indeed, homebrewing offers a Wonderland of possibilities thats only limited by the crafters imagination and availability of ingredients. Tak Guenette left the rabbit hole for a brewing job at Steamworks in 2012, but he still burrows back into it several nights a week. Not content with his full-time position at the Vancouver brewpub, Guenette finds the time to brew up to four batches a week in the den of his apartment. I do have a bit more of a creative freedom to do odd things, Guenette says of his homebrewing.I can brew something exactly the way I want it, something with my tastes in mind. Steamworks brewer Tak Guenette with his homebrewing setup at his Vancouver apartment. Guenette says he began homebrewing because he simply couldnt find the styles he wanted to drink. Since then, hes become a local expert in lesser-seen English stylessuch as mild ale, which he often conditions in a traditional cask. He does admit his double brewing duty is slightly excessive. His fiancee, with whom he shares his apartment, likely agrees. We made an agreement when we moved in to a larger place, a one-bedroom plus den, that I put everything into that one small room so she can close the door and not look at it. And I think were both happy with that, he says. Guenette and With are just two of several homebrewers who have made the transition to commercial brewing. They got in when they were young, eager and looking for work. For established professionals in other fields such as Butchart and McCarthy, the idea of brewing full-time appeals, but its maybe not quite so practical. The hours are long, the pay is modest and theres concern that the aura of brewing would lose its lustre. I would like to be a professional brewer but I have a job that pays me well so its kind of hard to justify, says Butchart, 32, a purchaser/planner for an aerospace tooling company. Also, Id like to keep it my hobby and not make it work, a necessity to get paid. McCarthy, 41, did give some serious thought to putting his beer qualifications to work when he was between careers. For me personally, given how expensive Vancouver is to live in and that I would be starting at square one in a lot of ways, it didnt look realistic to me, he says. But, you know, my eyes are open. Stay tuned for part three
Source http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/05/26/craft-beer-starts-at-home-how-homebrewers-are-fuelling-the-b-c-beer-boom-part-2/

Reno News & Review - Strange brew - 15 Minutes - Opinions - May 22, 2014

CDT, May 23, 2014 As the craft beer renaissance continues in Chicago's suburbs, one Plainfield home-brew supply shop is getting ready to offer up its own homemade suds. Chicago Brew Werks, a supply shop and taproom that opened about a year ago at 14903 S. Center St., will be offering its own Werk Force Brewing Co. beer at its taproom bar by next week, according to Amanda Wright, who started the shop with her husband, Brandon Wright. The supply shop has featured a small bar serving other craft beers since it opened. But after seven months of getting the required federal and state licenses, the supply shop is ready to become a brewery. "We just received our final state license about a week and a half ago," Amanda Wright said on Thursday. "We started brewing immediately." Amanda Wright said her husband handles most of the alchemy involved in creating new and delicious beers, and he has so far been crafting pale ales and India pale ales, more commonly known as IPAs. "He did a few of his staple beers, just to get us started," Amanda Wright said. The modest brewery features an electric brew house, which Amanda Wright said allows a bit more precision on the part of the brewer. "The kettles are actually heated by electric probes," she said. "It's a lot more efficient, energy-wise, and Brandon has a lot of ability to tweak the temperature more precisely, so he has a lot more control over the beers." The couple currently has just a two-barrel setup, meaning they are just producing small one or two-barrel batches, Amanda Wright said, "which is extremely small compared to other breweries." Still, a smaller production means the brewery can experiment and fiddle with different grain and hops combinations, she said. "Obviously everyone has hopes and dreams of big breweries, but we're able to do small, experimental batches," Amanda Wright said. "We're excited to be a small research-and-development brewery. We can do a lot more fun stuff that the larger breweries might not try out." These initial beers will only be sold from taps, she said, but plans are also afoot to sell take-away growlers of the product once they figure out how to balance demand. Right now, the team is brewing almost daily to build up stock, she said. "We are trying to feel out our demand in the taproom, to ensure we don't run out of beer on day one," Amanda Wright said. "Once we have beers on tap, we'll be consistently changing them." While her husband handles most of the hands-on brewing, Amanda Wright said she loves the sense of community that their shop has generated and enjoyed. "I love the community, and that everyone's enthusiastic about craft beer and being local," she said. "I like the energy of doing something new and making something with our own hands and able to serve the community that way." Brandon Wright said last year that he's enamored by the fact that small tweaks to a recipe can create a completely different brew, and that brewing is an art. "Except for using different types or colors of paint, we have grains, hops and yeast," he said. "We can totally design things from the ground up to suit our tastes and styles."
Source http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/plainfield/ct-new-beer-place-plainfield-tl-0529-20140523,0,7067945.story

Plainfield brew shop readies its own suds - chicagotribune.com

13-14, 1814. As part of the Star Spangled Summer celebration, Baltimore craft breweries are offering a variety of beverages for locals and visitors to toast the Anthem and Americas victory (again) over Great Britain in the War of 1812 , which ended in December 1814. For example, with 12 percent patriotism in every standard drink, Baltimore-based Union Craft Brewings Anthem Golden Ale is a light golden ale brewed with American grown barley, wheat, corn, and oats, and lightly hopped with Columbus for bittering and a kiss of floral Mosaic. For a stronger taste of Baltimore try Flying Dogs Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale, launching this weekend for summer distribution in New York, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and North Carolina. If there is anything better than Baltimore brew, its Maryland blue crabs. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Old Bay, Flying Dog Brewmaster Matt Brophy traveled to Baltimore to meet with the flavouring expert of McCormick, the iconic Maryland company that began in Baltimore in 1889, and owns the Old Bay recipe. With the basic Old Bay recipe scribbled on a napkin, and six months of development time, Flying Dog created a German-style wheat ale with a crisp dose of floral hops and familiar Old Bay notes of celery salt, white and black pepper, and garlic salt. A portion of proceeds from Dead Rise will be donated to True Blue, a program that advocates on behalf of the Chesapeake Bays 5,500 watermen and promotes sustainably harvested Maryland Blue Crab. Baltimore, founded in large part by hard-working, hard-drinking German immigrants, is home to a number of large and small breweries big and small, award-winning gypsy brewers, beer-mixologists, tap houses and sports bars, each serving the best of local ales, pills, IPAs and stouts. I found some of the city's best craft beers along with its best attractions and activities for a summer Beer-cation trail. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. VINTAGE BALTIMORE BREWS Pratt Street Ale House, Inner Harbor 206 West Pratt Street Dating back to 1888 when Pratt Street was first constructed in the heart of Baltimores Inner Harbor, the Pratt Street Ale Houses story is that of the neighborhood itself. In 1940s, the building was turned into the Pratt Furniture Company until 1980, when it housed its first bar and grill, P.J. Cricketts. In 1992, the Olivers turned P.J. Crickkets into the Wharf Rat. The brewery was added in 1993 and has created award-winning ales ever since, making Oliver Breweries Baltimores longest-running brew pub. Serving Olivers brews, the Pratt Street Ale House been named Best Brew Pub three times in the past decade by Baltimore Magazine and City Paper. http://www.prattstreetalehouse.com/ Baltimore Brew: ESBCask-conditioned, its an English strong red ale Pair with: Sports Legends Museum, Geppis Entertainment Museum BEERS ON BEERS ON BEERS Maxs Tap House, Fells Point 737 S Broadway In the heart of historic Fells Point by the Inner Harbor Maxs Tap House is legendary for having Marylands largest selection of local and imported beer with 140 rotating drafts, five hand-pumped cask ales, and a world-spanning collection of approximately 1,200 bottled beers in stock. http://www.maxs.com/ Baltimore Brew: Evolution, Stillwater Artisanal Ales Pair With: Frederick Douglass Museum, Robert McClintock Studio, Charm City Food Tour, Chost Tour POST MODERN BEERS Of Love & Regret - Stillwater Ales, Brewers Hill 1028 S Conkling St A beer company and art collective, gypsy brewer Stillwater Artisanal Ale has found a new home in Of Love & Regret, featuring famed brewer Brian Stumkes brews plus a menu crafted around them. Top selection is the Stateside Saison - Stillwaters flagship brew, Stateside Saison is naturally brewed with the finest European malts & fresh aromatic hops form the US & New Zealand. Baltimore Brew: Stateside Saison, Cellar Door, Autumnal, Existent. Pair With: Canton Waterfront Park MEET THE BREWERS Heavy Seas Alehouse, Little Italy 1300 Bank St Meet the Heavy Seas Alehouse brewers in the old Holland Tack Factory building, where the Alehouse combines the charm and character of the historic space with the bold industrial elements that occupied the building for more than 90 years making fasteners that went into major league baseballs, countless school bulletin boards and enough sofas to seat all of Baltimore. During the Civil War, the building served as a hospital for Confederate soldiers. Baltimore Brew: Heavy Seas Gold, Heavy Seas Cutlas Amber, Heavy Seas Powder Monkey Pale Ale Pair With: Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Star-Spangled Banner Flag House CRAFT BREWERY TOURS Union Craft Brewing, Woodberry 1700 UNION AVE Along the Jones Falls River in Baltimores historic Woodberry neighborhood, The Union Craft Brewery makes beer with reverence for tradition that unites old and new ideas, the science and craft of brewing, and the boldness and balance of flavor. Founded in the fall of 2011 by Kevin Blodger, Adam Benesch and Jon Zerivitz, brewing operations officially began in the spring of 2012 with the installation of a 20 barrel brewhouse and the initial launch of Duckpin Pale Ale. The brewery is open to the public for free tours and tastings every Saturday from 1-4pm. Happy Hour from 5pm 8pm Thursday and Friday. Baltimore Brew: Duckpin Pale Ale and Balt Altbier Pair with: Art on Purpose, Heavy Seas Brewery, Corredetti Glassblowing Studios COME FOR THE BREWS, STAY FOR THE BOOKS Eightbar at Atomic Books, Hampden Village 3620 Falls Rd Baltimore's legendary, alternative, independent bookstore specializing in zines, comix, self-published periodicals and fringe non-fiction now has its own craft beer bar in the heart of Hampden. No neighborhood says Bawlmer quite like north Baltimores Hampden, a 19th- century blue-collar mill town that has evolved into the epicenter of hipster Baltimore kitsch with original shops and an eccentric array of cafes mingling with the barber shops and pharmacies that keep this authentic, hard-working neighborhood real. Baltimore Brew: Elysian Brewing Companys Oddland series, which is a collaboration with artists from Fantagraphics Books (which Atomic carries) Pair With: Cafe Hon, Ma Petite Shoe WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE A NEW BEER AT ANY TIME The Brewers Art, Mt Vernon 1106 N Charles St Set in a grand Mt. Vernon townhouse, The Brewer's Art Crafthouse features 4 main beers and 20 seasonal beers brewed in house. Its beers have been named No. 1 on the Baltimore Suns list of Top 20 Beers in Maryland, CNBC named it as a Top-Notch Brewpub Brews and Esquire Magazine ranked it the number one bar in America. Baltimore Brew: Resurrection, Ozzy, Birdhouse, Saison Pecore, plus Brewer's Art remixes Pair With: Walters Art Museum, Maryland Historical Society DOG DAY AFTERNOON Pub-Dog, Federal Hill 20 E Cross St Nestled in Historic Federal Hill, the original Pub Dog is a locally owned and operated pizza and drafthouse serving up some of the best personal-size gourmet pizza and house-brewed craft beer. Its Dog Deal - two mugs of the same kind at the same time for only $4.50 Baltimore Brew: Imperial Dog, Bloodhound, Grand Mariner Ale and Fest Dog, Pub Dogs Oktoberfest Ale Pair With: Maryland Science Center, American Visionary Art Museum TAKE ME OUT TO THE BEER GAME Dempseys Brew Pub & Restaurant, Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 333 West Camden Street Named after beloved former Baltimore Oriole Rick Dempsey, the sports bar is open daily on Eutaw Street at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the ultimate beer experience among Orioles memorabilia and accomplishments of the Orioles Hall of Fame and the MVP of the 1983 World Series. Add to that 20 bottled beers, including 10 local and regional craft brews, plus some themed beer go-withs like the Black and Orange Burger, Camden Yards Crab Cakes, and the Dempsey Club. Baltimore Brew: Ricks Red Ale, Wild Pitch Wheat, Rain Delay IPA, and The 83 Golden Ale Pair With: Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards, Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum COCKTAIL HOUR B&O American Brasserie, Inner Harbor 2 N Charles St Where American Dining meets the American Rail, the B&O is a combination of style and substance worthy of the legendary Baltimore & Ohio Railway's headquarters, complete with original Beaux-Arts architecture and touches from old B&O railway carriages, and dining cars like The York. B&O Master Mixologist Brendan Dorr ensures the cocktail menu is never without a beer-inspired . Baltimore Brew: Suds Bucket... (Recipe: Barenjager, Allspice Dram, Lemon Juice, and Allagash White Ale) Pair With: Inner Harbor Waterfront
Source http://www.examiner.com/article/brewing-up-a-celebration-baltimore-style

Brewing up a celebration - Baltimore style - National Resort & Spa | Examiner.com

to open in Carlisle with taproom Molly Pitcher An artist rendering of what the front of Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. will look like when it opens this summer in Carlisle. (Provided ) Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. will begin brewing this summer in Carlisle. The microbrewery and taproom will open at 10 E. South St., and joins a growing list of new breweries including Alter Ego Brewing in Harrisburg and Moo-Duck Brewing in Elizabethtown popping up on the Central Pennsylvania beer scene. Molly Pitcher operations manager Mike Moll said the facility will include an open floor plan with a 30-seat taproom serving light fare. Patrons will be able to watch the brewing operations from the taproom. Molly Pitcher is the brainchild of four partners, all Carlisle residents and avid homebrewers, who along with Moll, include brewmaster Zachary Ziegler, brewer Tim Fourlas and CFO Brandon Bear. Together, they have a combined 30 years experience in home brewing. "It's always been something each of us has talked about and wanted to do for a long time, and we finally decided to make it happen instead of just talking about it," Moll said. Molly Pitcher will brew on a seven barrel system with an estimated initial capacity of 700 to 1,000 barrels, he said. The partners plan to brew a wide range of styles that include IPAs and pale ales but focus on "malt styles opposed to the fad of hop-centric beers that are popular right now," Moll said. "We consider ourselves malt-heads, if there is such a thing," he added. They plan to operate four days a week. In addition, Moll said the beers will be on tap at other midstate restaurants and bars.
Source http://www.pennlive.com/food/index.ssf/2014/05/molly_pitcher_brewing_company.html

Griffin Print Photo: Jon Holmes Over the past few years Ive designed a number of radon detectors; building them is an opportunity to work on multidisciplinary projects with a social benefit. Worldwide, naturally occurring radioactive radon gas seeps from rocks and soils, where it can accumulate in buildings at hazardous levels. The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 14 percent of lung cancers are due to radon exposure. In my work at Carleton University, in Canada, Ive used custom integrated circuits and specially programmed microcontrollers for my designs, but recently I wondered how I could make a detector with spare parts lying around my basement. It turns out that you can make a cheap and effective radon detector with five basic elements: a webcam, a funnel covered with copper tape and mesh, a voltage multiplier built from some basic electrical components, a box, and a computer. The system works because radon and some of its daughter products emit alpha particles as they decay. These alpha particles are responsible for most of the damage to human tissue that occurs when radon gas is inhaled, but they will also produce a slew of electron-hole pairs that show up as illuminated pixels should they strike the CMOS image sensor chip thats at the heart of many webcams. As alpha particles dont travel very far through solid matter, its necessary to cut away the protective cover over the webcams image sensor. Starting with a spare Microsoft LifeCam VX-2000 webcam (about US $20 to $30 online), I cut away the protective cover using a Dremel tool and covered the indicator LED with electricaltape. Putting the modified webcam into a dark, ventilated box and connecting it to a computer via a USB connection gave me a workingbut very slowradon detector. In order to make it more sensitive, I added an electrostatic concentrator to capture one of radons alpha-particle-emitting daughter products. When radon decays into polonium-218, the polonium is usually left with a positive charge, so it can be swept toward the webcams image sensor with a suitably shaped electric field. Some copper tape (VentureTape 1626) and a powder funnel (I happened to have a Nalgene 4252-0100 powder funnel on hand) is all you need to make a two-electrode electrostatic concentrator that creates a field of the right shape. I applied the copper tape to the interior of the funnel, making sure to preserve electrical contact for both electrodes. I used a bottom electrode size and spacing of 15 millimeters. I then stretched copper mesh over the top, soldered a few spots into position, and I was done. To get an idea of how the concentrator would behave and how strong a field I would need to generate, I modeled it using Comsol s multiphysics simulation software. For a concentrator 10centimeters high, I estimated that an electric field strength of 50volts per meter would suffice for collecting charged polonium-218. Although high voltages are required at the concentrators electrodes to create this field, they arent that hard to generate because, effectively, no current will be drawn between the electrodes. Photos: Clockwise from top: Ryan Griffin (2); Jon Holmes RadCam: Copper foil and mesh applied to a funnel [top] form the electrodes for an electrostatic concentrator that boosts the count rate of the radon detector. The high voltages required are provided by a voltage multiplier [bottom left]. The detector itself is a CMOS-based webcam with its image sensor exposed [bottom right]. I put together a 12-stage Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier driven by a bipolar 555 timer feeding a Triad Magnetics SP-4 audio transformer. The multiplier converted a 15-V supply to the 1370V and 990 V I needed for the upper and lower concentrator electrodes, respectively. Although you should be careful dealing with voltages as high as these, the voltage multiplier supplies so little current that an accidental contact shouldnt be lethal. I also used small (1 nanofarad) capacitors to avoid a dangerous buildup of charge. But again, be careful, and proceed at your own risk. Turning on the high-voltage concentrator improved the count rate of the detector by 25 times or more. Not bad for an old funnel and copper tape! I used Matlab software to control the webcam and also analyze the data. As the image sensor can potentially also detect less strongly interacting beta particles, I set the detection threshold, over which a pixel is considered to have been struck by an alpha, high enough to avoid noise and beta impacts. Also, when the sensor is struck by an alpha particle, an entire cluster of adjacent pixels will often register the impact, so its necessary to identify any clusters to avoid overcounting strikes. I used an 8-nearest-neighbor algorithm to find clusters. In all, it took about 100 lines of code. Calibrated with a Safety Siren Pro Series3 radon detector (about $130), my system counted 5.2 alpha strikes per hour in an ambient radon concentration of 159 becquerels per cubic meter. At this level of sensitivity it would take the detector about 20 hours to determine whether radon was present at levels recommended as actionable by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with about 10 percent accuracy. (For the future of this detector, I am thinking of using electrostatics-modeling software to optimize the concentrator shape, electrode size, and voltage to make an even more efficient detector. It would also be interesting to rigorously calibrate the detector and observe activity dependencies on temperature, humidity, and the presence of airborne particulates.) If you build a similar detector yourself and start reading high counts, contact a professional (or buy a calibrated detector). It might be time for radon mitigation in your own home. This article originally appeared in print as DIY Radon Detector. Learn More
Source http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/how-to-build-a-homebrew-radon-detector

Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. to open in Carlisle with taproom | PennLive.com

But Im pretty sure its totally illegal to sell them. I made them for my own personal use. He added that hes not really a home-brewer and this was only the second time that he has made a beer at The Brew Kettle, which allows people to come in and brew a small batch of beer under the tutelage of a professional brewer.
Source http://www.ohio.com/news/local/browns-fan-bottles-home-brew-johnny-man-z-ale-1.490165

Browns fan bottles home-brew Johnny Man'z Ale - Local - Ohio

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.. On Sunday, May 25, Fremont Brewing releases the 2014 version of Homefront IPA at the Urban Beer Garden, the taproom and beer garden at Fremont Brewing. Everyone is invited to stop by and enjoy a pint of this very special beer. Official festivities run from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., but stop by any time to get a beer. Otherwise, look for Homefront IPA in 12-oz cans at better beer retailers around the Seattle area. This limited-release beer typically lasts about one month. Fremont Brewing is one of the 11 breweries across the USA producing Homefront IPA this year (see below) as part of the Hops for Heroes project, which benefits Operation Homefront , an organization providing emergency financial and other assistance to the family members of our service members and wounded warriors. Fremont Brewing became the first brewery to join the Homefront IPA team back in 2011 when Chris Ray approached the brewery about producing a special kind of beer for a very special cause. At that time, Chris played for the Seattle Mariners but planned to someday open his own brewery. Not many professional baseball players spend their free time raking spent grain out of the mash tun. (Chris Ray at Fremont Brewing in 2011.) Chris met with Fremont Brewing and devised a recipe that included using Louisville Slugger baseball bats as part of the conditioning process: unused maple bats are added to the conditioning tanks. Today they still condition the beer using pristine Louisville Slugger bats. On July 5th, Fremont Brewing holds a raffle to give away the bats. Buy raffle tickets at the Urban Beer Garden. I attended the inaugural Homefront IPA brew session back in 2011 at Fremont Brewing and wrote a story about the experience ( read it ). Since then, Hops for Heroes continues to expand and this year hopes to pass the $200,000 mark. Collectively, participating breweries produced over 800 barrels of the beer this year, much of which will be packaged in uniform Aluminum cans provided by Crown Beverage Packaging and distributed across the nation. Following the 2012 season, Chris Ray retired from baseball. Today he and his brother own and operate Center Of The Universe Brewing (COTU Brewing) in Ashland, Virginia. The Homefront IPA project continues to grow and this year ten different breweries across the country brewed Homefront IPA (listed below). Center of the Universe Brewing Company, Ashland, VA Fremont Brewing Company, Seattle, WA Sly Fox, Pottstown, PA Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL Perennial Artisan Ales, St. Louis, MO Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Houston, TX 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA Palmetto Brewing Company, Charleston, SC Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, HI Click on the image below to see full size poster. Press Release: Hops for Heroes is excited to announce the participating breweries for this years brewing of Homefront IPA Ashland, VA, March 18: Since 2011, Hops for Heroes has been expanding each year. The dedication to our troops by the craft brewing community can be seen with 11 total breweries participating in 2014. This dedication can also be seen by the growing number of sponsors, including Crown Beverage Packaging USA, who has come on board to supply a uniform can for this years efforts. Center of the Universe Brewing Company, Ashland, VA Fremont Brewing Company, Seattle, WA Sly Fox, Pottstown, PA Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL Perennial Artisan Ales, St. Louis, MO Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Houston, TX 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA Palmetto Brewing Company, Charleston, SC Maui Brewing Co., Lahaina, HI Homefront IPA was developed in 2011 by Fremont Brewing Company and Center of the Universe Brewing Company in order to raise money and awareness for Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront is a charity that provides emergency assistance to military heroes and their families. Aged on Louisville Slugger maple bats, this IPA does more than just quench your thirst; it improves the lives of our soldiers. Homefront IPA is a unique charity beer in that 100% of the proceeds go towards Operation Homefront. With the help of 6 participating breweries and other organizations that donated the hops and grains used to make the beer, Hops for Heroes was able to raise roughly $80,000 dollars for Operation Homefront in 2013. This year, Hops for Heroes is hoping to top $200,000 and is set to brew 800 barrels (24,800 gallons) of beer between the 11 participating breweries. The beers will be debuting a week before Memorial Day.
Source http://blog.seattlepi.com/washingtonbeerblog/2014/05/22/this-sunday-fremont-brewing-releasing-homefront-ipa/

This Sunday: Fremont Brewing Releasing Homefront IPA - Washington Beer Blog

It's called Imbib Custom Brews, and its the kind of thing at which Reno and its denizens have long excelled. All the details can be found at www.indiegogo.com/projects/imbib-custom-brews-help-us-find-a-home . Tell me a little bit about what you have going. My partners [Jason Green and Bart Blank] and I are working on a brewery that engages people in the process far more than your average brewery. We're all homebrewers, so we really want to brew beer and get it out into people's hands in a different way. One way is a club-based model that is based on community-supported agriculture, where somebody pays an annual fee, and they get a guaranteed quantity of beer once a month, and they also get a say in what we brewnot everything we brew, but some of the stuff that we brew. It's a new model. There's a few people around the country doing it, but it hasn't really been totally tested yet. That's one piece. Whats another? Continuing on the theme of engaging people, we know that there's a niche market for custom brews, for people's weddings, events, things like that. I've done this many times as a home brewerbrewed a beer for a friend's wedding. But again, we're trying to take it to another level where we would actually provide a service where we could provide a custom brew. Part of it is like a consultation process, where you'd taste eight different beers, you'd tell us what you like. We'd get a range of beers, you'd tell us what you like about each of those, and then we'd design a recipe around that. I suppose youd have specialized labels for a larger event. Exactly. Im getting the idea. Not only the recipe, but a custom package so that it demonstrates that the event is unique in some way. Part of our model is to really engage the home brewing community. There are a couple of home brew shops, one home brew shop that just opened up in Reno, and then there's the existing one. We still think that we would provide supplies in some ways, but we probably wouldn't launch a retail part of our business, just because Its probably not sustainable for three homebrew shops in Reno. Yeah, exactly. I see it as part of the Indiegogo campaign, it includes lifetime memberships and those sorts of things. You just started that off. What made you decide that method for getting funding? We have been working on this model for a little while. In a typical scenario, you would probably do the Indiegogo piece last. But we need both big and small investors. Indiegogo is obviously on the smaller side. But for us to get our brewery up and running, we have to have a physical space. Before you can even apply for a license, you've got to have a space. Right now we need that funding to get into a space so that we can get our licensing and really start putting out a product. We're fearful that if we wait until some of the other funding pieces come into place, just given the competitiveness of brewing in Reno, and the buzz we've built at this point, that might die out pretty quickly, and so we've been donating beer to a lot of events as home brewers, and we just felt like there were enough people talking about it, that this was the time to strike.
Source http://www.newsreview.com/reno/strange-brew/content?oid=13503149